Jujuy: Ceremony of Inti Raymi ushers in new vision

Celebrations began the night of June 20 with bonfires, offerings, dances and music in Tupac Amaru Square, which festivities part the old and new year

By dawn on June 21 at El Alto Bowl, on the outskirts of the provincial capital, the ceremonies continued with the New Year chaya to Pacha Mama (Earth) and to those so-gathered; about three thousand people were heartily gladdened. There, the main organization, Miracle Room, had built a replica of the temple of Kalasasaya, the ancient holy city of Tiwanaku, in what is now Bolivia. The joy was reported palpable.

The whole evening was a party, without any expression of violence. Bonfires, some taking turns to feed the fires, delicious food and soft drinks, dances, various bands, different expressions of children of neighbourhood schools and Tupac Amautas (Shamans) of the native people guarding each of the festivities.

*”The sky was clear, you could see all the stars,”* says humanist Patricia Lacolla. *”It was cold but the fires and the warmth of friends protected all. This was a celebration that came from the depths of the human being, from that place where we can all find when we seek sincerely.*

*“And we did. When the first rays of the sun is allowed to see through the mountains on the horizon, a general commotion invaded all present. Amautas immediately escorted us to thank and welcome the light and the strength of Tata Inti. Thousands of people got that positive energy with the certainty that it will accompany us throughout the year. Appreciated, appreciated, appreciated… The ceremony continued with the New Year chaya to Pacha Mama and all present, followed the music and joy increased. We humanists knew that Silo was present, was accompanying us, there was no doubt.”*

At the Miracle Room at the conclusion of the ceremonies which have been re-enacted every year for over 5000 years and before the close of the celebration the Siloists were invited to the temple to perform a Ceremony of Well Being. Following that were the long supplications of the ancestral ceremonies, all together celebrating the highest aspirations of the human being and promoting good wishes for all mankind.

Norma Coronel, one of the visiting Siloists tells her story: *“This people from our America opened not only their doors but also their hearts, showing us their strength – the spiritual tint accompanying their social actions.*

*“Milagro Sala, founder and leader of Tupac – a social organization of the native peoples of Jujuy – explained the Well Being ceremony to the crowds with words that no doubt reached her people because they were also a testimonial. Then, together with Maria Teresa from Jujuy and in front of eight hundred people sitting down and holding hands, we started the ceremony.*

*“At the end and glancing over the front rows, I saw tears in all their faces and, when we came close to them, they sincerely thanked us. I will not go into the detail of all that I experienced. I will only say that a profound love and thanking for this people and for Silo arose.*

*“The ceremonies that their amautas carried out to say farewell to the old year and, on the next day, to welcome the new one were spectacular. Here I will give my testimonial: when the sun started to appear, as magnificent and radiant like I had never seen before, we were all immersed in a complete silence and time seemed to stop, making a sort of “epoch moment”.*

*“What I was seeing looked like a photo with internal movement. It is hard to explain but, during that indefinable period I understood that, at that very instant, the Universal Human Nation was being born, a part of the Work that our Master and Guide had left in our hands to continue. And I comprehended everything, all of that and much more.*

*“When their ceremonies ended and as if unexpectedly Milagro invited us to do the ceremony of Well Being there, in that sacred space and for maybe up to 3,000 people, I cannot explain why this seemed to me as something normal, as though it could not have happened in any other way.*

*“Then, placed very much within myself, I started to talk. I was calm, very calm, connected with… I was not able to distinguish any individuality nor separation of any kind among those of us there, we were One, in sacred unity, becoming brothers and sisters of the Profound.*

*“All this that happened was not a hazard consequence, it was intentional. It was the result of the sustained work of several friends and, in some cases, a work of many years. I want to thank here each and every one of them for their contribution to this new moment of the Work and of History which has already began. Thanks Ana Lopez. Two cultures, two peoples, one same idea and one same heartbeat.”*

*“America, frozen and embraced, deserted and full, high and low, the time for your mission has come. Awaken and rise! … Today it is about liberating the spirit of America,” from The Forbidden Harangue,* Silo, July 1969.

About The Author

Tony Henderson
Tony Henderson is a freelance writer working in Hong Kong, since 1980, and previously Japan, for seven years following two years in Mauritius after a year in Libya. Long time participant in the Humanist Movement and spokesman for Universal Humanism in Hong Kong. Also, Pressenza Hong Kong Bureau Chief.